Readings for 2/21 – my comments
Here’s some comments on a few of this week’s readings – I encourage everyone to comment on my comments, or just write your own reflections on these readings in your own blog posts!
Nicholson Baker, “The Charms of Wikipedia”
Baker is a very well-known fiction and non-fiction writer. In the past he has written passionately about the importance of libraries in the preservation of information – he has tried to lead a campaign to stop libraries from throwing away their old newspapers and books. In this article he talks about Wikipedia and how addictive it can be to write and edit entries. I would say that Baker has an obsessive personality because it didn’t seem to take much to get him addicted. It was interesting to see that even with Wikipedia, he got especially interested in preserving information – the entries that people had made for obscure writers, for example. He was concerned that if these entries got erased, people would no longer have access to this information, and perhaps the writers in question might never be discovered or read. Were you sympathetic to his concerns about preserving Wikipedia entries from the ‘vandals’ and ‘extremist deleters’?
Serona Elton, “Lover for Labels: Where are the Voices of the Record Companies?”
I found this opinion piece fascinating, even though I don’t really agree with it. Elton insists that big record companies are essential for new and up-and-coming artists to succeed in the music business, because only the big labels can spend the time and money to promote and market the artists. She doesn’t think that the internet will be able to do the same for them. She cites MySpace as an example of the impossibility of standing out from the crowd on the internet, since there are so many artists there. But one thing she fails to recognize is that people write and comment about bands, singers, etc. through blogs and other ‘Web 2.0′ media, and these sources have become a very important way, maybe the main way, for people to discover music they like today. I can say from my own experience as a music lover that I find out about most music from the web – blogs, YouTube, music websites, etc. I don’t think I ever learn about new music from record company advertising or promotion. What about you? Do you believe that the record companies still have an important role to play in promoting music?
See you all on Tuesday evening!
I believe record companies are still important today. I can’t imagine an artist gaining fame and reaching stardom without a record company. Internet sites like myspace and youtube simply help record companies scout talent for free. Artist like Justin Bieber and Soulja Boy were discovered this way and wouldn’t have reached their status without being reached by record companies. It seems that an independent artist would struggle without all the help made available by companies. Marketing, all the legal stuff and licenses should not be worries in the artist’s head, that would just distract him. Having record companies take care of that is vital for the artist.
“The Charms of Wikipedia”
I have alot of respect for people like Nicholson trying to help Wikipedia by preserving or adding usefull information. Wikipedia is a fast way to access considerably reliable information. Its convenient and for people like Nicholson and editors he mentioned to spend hours or days keeping information intact helps us all. Its hard to process why these “vandals” terrorize wikipedia information. Everyone should appreciate the benefits of wikipedia and that if there is tainted information it is because of these “vandals”.
I believe that Wikipedia can be an amazing tool for the acquisition of knowledge but there are instances where not everything posted on Wikipedia is the truth. At time people with no life who want to have a little bit of fun at your expense log into Wikipedia and change information around to make other lives difficult which is unfortunate, but overall the majority of the material in Wikipedia is sold and is legitimate especially in the case of health sciences such as Biology, Anatomy, Chemistry, and Psychics, I have personally learned more from Wikipedia in regards to health sciences than i did in the classrooms or reading the text. Wikipedia is an extremely beneficial tool to use to aid in study but can at times be misdealing because of a few individuals who find it funny to mess with people. All in all I would recommend the use of Wikipedia but at the same time strongly urge you to double check the information that you have read and make sure its valid.
Record companies still play a very big role in the music indistry. For example, many people would listen to your music based on the record companies that signed you. there is no doubt that new artists have talent, however, record companies would not only make these people famous but they also them better artist. I agree with ELton, I think that that the internet does not help new artist as record label does. The internet is just there to help people show their talent in order to get a deal with a record companies. Without them I believe almost all of the artists would not have been where they are right now.
Wikipedia is a fast way to access considerably reliable information. . Everyone should use the benefits of wikipedia and not crtizie its usefulness. I believe that Wikipedia can be an amazing tool but there are ocasions where not everything posted on Wikipedia is the truth. I have personally learned more from Wikipedia in regards to health sciences, goverment related topics, sports and other things than i did in the classrooms or reading the text.
Wikipedia is one of the best examples of Web 2.0 tool. It is interactive and updated frequently. At the same time, there are some possibilities to contain the false. I don’t agree with the author’s idea to preserve the information in Wikipedia. I believe Wikipedia’s popularity and reliability come from the bidirectional editing system. Every user has to be aware to choose the true information from the interactive Wikipedia.